I'd Rather Be Different
by Rebel-Angel-Hero
Summary: Leila Rosewood had a huge crush on Wilbur Robinson, so it was a dream come true when by chance they end up friends. But Leila isn't all that she seems- she's got her own baggage, and it could end up tearing them apart. WilburXOC. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

"Oof!" Leila Rosewood grunted as something slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. Glaring up at whatever or whoever had bumped into her, she said, annoyed, "Watch where you're going!"

"I'm really sorry," the boy apologized. "I'll help you get your stuff."

Leila suddenly realized who it was, and almost gasped as he reached for some scattered papers and her sketchbook. "Wait!" she cried, and he stopped, his hand halfway there. "Um, I mean, I'll get those. Can you get those books?" Her half-excuse petered away lamely as he gave her a quizzical look and gathered the books.

She couldn't let him see those papers, because they were drawings of him- and the sketchbook was full of more. Sketches from every angle: head shots, full body drawings, torso drawings, everything from rough sketches to inked and colored pictures. Of late, Leila had applied her growing talent in art to her crush on Wilbur Robinson. Luckily, the drawing that would have been the most embarrassing for him to see- one of them together- had been left on her desk that morning, so he couldn't possibly see the evidence. Darien often teased her playfully about her drawings and daydreams about Wilbur.

"Here," he said, handing her the books. Realizing that her face was fast going red, she kept her face down, and turned away as fast as possible. "Thanks," she mumbled, stuffing everything into her shoulder bag.

"I really am sorry," he said.

"It's okay, it was an accident," she said hurriedly, trying her best not to look at him (though that was usually all she did).

"Well, I'll see you in class, then," he said in goodbye, and walked away.

Leila only looked at him when she was sure that his back was to her. She could feel her cheeks' bright red color. _Great, now he probably thinks I'm some weirdo who's possessive of her drawings. Way to suck that one up, Lei._

She sighed. _Oh well, maybe he won't notice me any more._ With that less-than-comforting thought in mind, she trudged off to her next class, forgetting that Wilbur was also in that class.

She remembered, however, when she walked in and saw the back of his head one seat in front and two to the left of hers. _Please don't look behind you, please don't look behind you_, she silently begged. Luckily, he was busy talking and laughing with his friends. Leila almost glared at the girl sitting on Wilbur's desk, but remembered that the act would look weird.

Leila was very jealous of Tina Hathaway, one of Wilbur's only female friends. Tina was totally comfortable with Wilbur- she laughed at all his jokes, got teased by him and teased him in return, playfully punched him in the arm, even went over to his house (only with a group though). Basically, Leila would give anything to be Tina Hathaway.

"Alright, settle down," the teacher, Miss Reede, called over the chatter after the bell rang. Leila hurried to her seat and spent a few seconds extra rummaging around in her bag when she noticed Wilbur glancing her way.

"Now, today I will assign you to your partner for your end-of-the-year project," she announced to many groans. "I'll be doing it alphabetically, so don't even think about changing partners because I'll know. If you really, _really_, need a partner change, then come to me and ask, and I'll see what I can do.

"First are…Tamara Alston and Mason Anake." Miss Reede continued down the list. Leila didn't pay much attention until she got to the P's, when Leila got a growing sense of apprehension.

"Let's see, no Q's, so… Wilbur Robinson and Leila Rosewood." Leila was paying attention then. _What?!_

She sunk a little into her seat. She pointedly avoided Wilbur's eyes as he looked to her. _Why, oh why? I hate my frickin' name._

Leila was packing her things into her locker after her last period when Wilbur came up to her locker. "Hey, um, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Uh, sure," Leila mumbled, distracted.

"Look, I'm sorry about bumping into you earlier, and I felt like I should apologize properly," he said, surprising Leila a little. She chanced looking up at him. His face was totally serious.

"Apology accepted?" she answered, more of a question than a statement. He looked a little relieved.

"So, listen, I was thinking that we could get started early and have it done and not have to worry."

"What?" Leila asked, a little confused.

"Oh, I meant the project."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Probably good to get it done, like you said."

"So, you want to come over to my house today?"

That got him her full attention. "Wh-what?" she spluttered.

"Do you want to come over and get started?"

Leila could feel herself going a little pink. "Oh, um, sure, I guess…" she said, her voice trailing off. "I just have to talk to Darien to tell him I'll be late."

"Darien?"

"He's, uh, my older brother," she said, her words rushing together a little. It was a lie- Darien wasn't even related to her, even though he was like an older brother. But it wasn't like she made it commonly known that she was an orphan living with her dead older brother's best friend and college roommate.

"Oh, okay. He'll tell your parents?"

Leila choked a little, but managed to disguise it as a cough. "Oh, um, they're out of town for a while…for work." _As if. They're not out of town, they're still here- in the cemetery. Like they even care if I'm going to a classmate's house. The dead don't care about anything, not even the ones they leave behind._ Her eyes teared up a little, but luckily Wilbur didn't notice.

"Well, you call him, I'll tell James I'm not going to his house. Meet me at the front of the school."

"Okay," Leila answered, not having a clue who James was, but Wilbur had already turned away.

Normally she would have been ecstatic about this kind of a chance, but the sting of the run-in earlier was still there, and now she would have to spend an hour, maybe two, with just him. She could barely string together sentences for five minutes, let alone sixty.

Resigning herself with her fate, she quickly connected to Darien's MoComp with her own.

"What's up?" he asked, his face coming into focus on Leila's own screen.

"I'm going to Wilbur Robinson's house to work on a project for history," she said quietly.

"So, it's off to the infamous Wilbur's place, eh? No problem, just get to Main Square and you'll get home fine."

"Thanks," she said, cutting off the connection and heading to the front of the school.

* * *

Wilbur led Leila to a huge mansion that she correctly guessed was his home. She was awed by the sheer size and oddness of it.

"Wow," she breathed. Wilbur grinned at her.

"Home sweet home," he said. "Come on, you have to meet my mom." He grabbed her hand, sending an electric shock-like feeling up Leila's arm and throughout her body, and pulled her to the front door.

When they got there, Leila looked all around her, still amazed. She was shocked when a head popped out of the potted plant next to her.

"Ring my doorbell," the head cajoled. Surprising Leila even more, another head popped out of the potted plant on the other side of the front door. "No, ring mine," the other pleaded.

Wilbur chuckled. "That's Uncle Dimitri and Uncle Spike," he explained. "We're not quite sure how they're related to any of us." Instead of ringing either doorbell (as there were two), Wilbur knocked, causing simultaneous groans and arguments between Dimitri and Spike. A second later, he seemed to realize that he was still holding her hand, and pulled his own away, making Leila less uncomfortable.

The door opened, revealing a woman who looked very much like Wilbur. Her hair looked much the same, and she wore a blue and red dress.

"Wilbur, you're home. And who's this?" she asked as she pulled her son into a hug.

"This is Leila, Mom," Wilbur introduced after rolling his eyes a little. "We're working together on a project for history. Leila, this is my mother, Franny Robinson."

"Nice to meet you," Leila said a little shyly, shaking Franny's hand.

"You as well." She let the two inside.

"Well, the kitchen is down the hall to the left. Wilbur's room and the study are upstairs; Wilbur can show you where. I'll leave you two to it. If you need anything, just ask." Franny walked away towards the kitchen.

"Come on, I want to show you the garage," Wilbur said, taking Leila's hand again without realizing it and pulling her down a hallway. Despite her earlier apprehension, Leila was getting more and more excited. _I can't believe I'm actually at Wilbur's house! And he's showing me around! It's like I'm in a dream._


	2. Chapter 2

Later, Wilbur and Leila were sprawled out on the floor of the study, their MoComps, a blank poster board, a small laptop-like computer, and a plate of cookies in front of them. They'd reach for a cookie, take a bite, click on a link on the Internet, take another bite, click another link, and repeat until they reached the end of their respective cookies, upon which they would restart the whole process.

Leila had vastly enjoyed her tour around the house, upon which she met many more members of Wilbur's family, including his grandparents, Bud and Lucille; two of his uncles, Gaston and Laszlo; one of his aunts, Tallulah; and his father, Cornelius, who had been working in his lab, a giant room that looked like part of an observatory. The two had then gotten some cookies and departed for the study after Wilbur had shown her his room.

Having finished her cookie, Leila reached for another one, only to find that there was only one left and Wilbur had grabbed it at the same time. Leila blushed.

"Here, you have it," she offered, ducking her head and turning back to her MoComp. Some cookie crumbs fell onto it, making her look up at the half a cookie Wilbur was offering her.

"Thanks," she said, caught a little off-guard. As she took the cookie, her hand brushed his. Another shock ran through her body, and she turned away, knowing that if she said anything it would likely be intelligible at this point. She didn't see the questioning look that Wilbur gave her.

* * *

After the day's work, Leila packed up her stuff.

"Hey, since you're here, do you want to stay for dinner?" Wilbur asked. Leila looked up in shock.

"Oh, no, I really couldn't intrude-" she started in protestation.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that my mom wouldn't mind. Just ask your brother."

Leila was shocked for a millisecond, then remembered that Wilbur still thought Darien was her brother, and recovered before he noticed. "Uh, sure, okay."

Darien was more than happy to do take-out, as he had conveniently forgotten to tell Leila that three of his friends were coming over to play video games anyways. Leila was mortified when he said, "This is a step up, right? First you go over to his house, then you stay for dinner. Meet the fam. Get to know him. Next thing I know, you'll be kissing him in the hallway." As always, Darien's deficiency in tact never ceased to embarrass Leila, which of course was why he teased her so.

Ten minutes later, Leila was sitting between Wilbur and his mother at their dinner table. Her chronic shyness wasn't helping at all, as the whole family was dead-set on asking her a million questions about her life. The food stopped them for a while, but after, Cornelius asked her, "So, where do you live?"

"I live in midtown, closer to downtown, really. We have a small apartment on Acre Lane."

"So, you live with your parents?"

Leila could feel her ears turning red, but luckily her hair hid it. "Um, yes. Me, them, and my- my brother, Darien. He's twenty-six."

"So what do your parents do for a living?"

"They, um…"

Leila couldn't take the lies anymore. Her face went bright red, and her eyes started to tear up.

"Look, it was really nice of you to have me over for dinner, but I really should get going," she said hurriedly, standing up suddenly and running out of the room. Luckily, she'd put her bag by the front door, so she simply slung it on as she ran out. However, halfway up the drive, she tripped and fell flat on her face. As she started to pull herself up, her backpack sliding off her slim shoulder, she broke down and began to cry, her breath coming in halting, choking breaths. She sat down and pulled her knees into her chest, her shoulders shaking.

"Leila?"

The sound of her name coming from the one person she didn't want to see made her lift her head up, her tear-streaked face turning to face Wilbur.

"Are you okay? I saw you fall."

At his comment, Leila began to cry even harder. _Great, now he probably thinks I'm a klutz, on top of everything. This just keeps getting better and better._

Wilbur knelt down and put a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Was it something my family said? I didn't realize you were touchy about your family."

"It's- not- that," she sobbed, her words coming in halted, chopped up segments. "It's- something else."

"Tell me."

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I lied about Darien being my brother. And I lied about my parents being away on a trip."

"Where are they?"

Leila screwed up her face as she tried not to start crying again. "Wherever people go after they die."

Wilbur was struck speechless, but Leila continued.

"Darien was my older brother Tyler's college roommate. They were like brothers, which is why he's like family to me. Tyler and my parents were killed in an accident seven years ago. Darien dropped out of college to take care of me so I could stay with someone I knew. He's been living off of unemployment and odds jobs ever since so he can support me until I go off to college in a few years. I don't tell anyone at school because they'd think I was weird and pitiable because I'm an orphan. And because no one hangs out with me." Leila's voice cracked and her sobs started anew.

There was silence, save for Leila's crying, for a minute. She chanced looking at Wilbur to find him looking to his left with an odd look on his face.

_He's probably wondering why he even invited me to dinner. Oh, now he probably hates me for lying to him and now he'll barely ever speak to me again! Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut?_

Wilbur took a deep breath. "Wow. You must really hate me right now," he said.

The shock of the words made Leila stop crying. "Wh-what?" she choked.

"First I knock you over, then I make you uncomfortable, then I introduce you to my family so they can ask you all sorts of questions that you don't want to answer, then I make you relive all of this terrible stuff, and on _then_ I make you cry. Plus on top of all that, I can tell you don't like me."

Leila was shocked. "That's not true!" _He's realized all of the stuff I've been trying to hide?_

"You always avoid looking at me, and you act really uncomfortable around me." His voice wasn't challenging, just worn. "I understand why, though, I'm terrible to you anyways. I never talk to you and then I expect you to like me."

"It was an accident earlier today, I know that. I really didn't mind. And I act that way around you because I-" Leila immediately stopped talking. _I can't believe I almost told him I like him!_

"Because you what?"

Leila sniffed. "The truth is, I just want to be your friend. I'm…awkward around you because I'm trying to…I don't know, fit in, I guess."

Wilbur was surprised. "Is that really it?"

"Y-yeah."

He sat back. "Well, that's settled, then. Let's be friends."

Leila smiled a little. "Okay." He helped her up, then led her back to the house, once again unconsciously holding her hand.

"Um…"

Wilbur turned to look at Leila. Her eyes were still wet, though the tears had stopped, and her face was red, but not blotchy. It was true that Wilbur had never paid much attention to her before; she'd just been a girl in his class with oddly-colored hair- Leila was an avid user of ShadeShift, a hair dye that changed color everyday and lasted for two weeks- who spent half of her time bent over her drawings, graphite smudges all over her hands. But now that he'd begun to get to know her, he noticed a lot more about her. _Even when she cries she looks pretty,_ he thought. "What is it?"

"You won't…tell anyone, will you?" Leila looked up at him. She was distracted by her query enough that she didn't pay attention to the fact that he was holding her hand.

"Of course I won't. It's your business who you tell," he assured her.

She smiled at him, her eyes still bright. "Thanks."

* * *

That night, Leila was in her bed, though she couldn't sleep. The events of the day were still overwhelming her, making it impossible to fall asleep.

_Wow. I can't believe I told all of that to Wilbur_…_and I can't believe we're friends now. Just like that. Though I still feel bad having lied so much._

She was still happy inside, though the aching pain of her longing for her parents made her stomach clench. The memory of Darien when she'd come home made her smile.

After she rang the doorbell, she heard thumping and then the turn of the locks tumbling. Darien had opened the door and taken one look at her face before saying, "What happened? You look like hell."

She'd given him a brief summary of the evening's events- the finer details were hers to keep- and gone straight upstairs, telling him that if they all didn't quiet down in fifteen minutes she'd rewire the electrical system. Knowing perfectly well that Leila had an intimate knowledge of the specifics of their apartment's electrical system, and seeing that she was still upset, Darien hadn't argued. He'd come up to tell her good night, which was sweet, Leila thought, because he hadn't done that very much since she'd turned eleven.

Giving up on falling asleep, Leila turned to her MoTouch and plugged in a pair of old-fashioned 1990's headphones that she'd kept from her old house, and turned the player to some of her new favorite music. Thirty years later, Avril still hadn't lost her touch.

* * *

Three months later, Leila had inserted herself into Wilbur's circle of friends fairly easily. She'd soon learned that she'd vastly misjudged Tina, who had accepted her immediately and had soon become Leila's good friend. The others had taken a liking to her as well- as Wilbur had told her they would- and Leila was almost positive that Jordan was pining after her, from the way he both teased and flirted. The one downside, though, was that she got this odd feeling off of Hana, a quiet and observant foreign exchange student who often stared at Leila very, _very_ intently (though Leila wasn't sure if it wasn't just because of her hair).

With the addition of a group of friends, Leila's self-confidence raised dramatical-ly, so much so that her homeroom teacher noticed. At the beginning of the season, she joined the girls' lacrosse team.

As they walked together to history one day, Wilbur suddenly asked Leila, "Hey, do you play any Chargeball at all?"

"Um, I used to, but I haven't played in years," Leila replied. "I'm probably not any good."

"You never know until you try. There's a tournament downtown; come and check it out."

"Are you a Chargeball nerd?" Leila asked jokingly.

"I am, in fact," Wilbur countered, grinning. "I love the game."

"Well, I'll see if Darien's doing anything, though I doubt it."

"It starts at five. It's in the back of the Jukebox Café on Southway St. So maybe see you there?"

"Maybe," Leila repeated, smiling at him as she sat on the edge of Tina's desk. He flashed a grin at her, then answered a question from Jordan.

* * *

**Hoorah! Chapter 2 is up. I'm going to try to get up a chapter every few days. I actually have a lot of the story written, but I'm trying to space it out to give myself more time to finish it. So this is all you get! Muahahaha...ha...ha. Ha. Ha?**

**ANYWAYS...**

**As always, please read and review! I'm a big girl, I can take criticism...but I don't like being flamed. If you think my story is terrible, then I have a brilliant solution for you: DON'T READ IT! It's a concept, right?**

**Also, I'm sorry at my terrible breaks between chapters, but I run into the problem of either having a good break and a chapter that's too long, or a bad break and a chapter that's the right size. Since you'll end up reading all of it anyways, I go with bad breaks and good size. Sorry!**

**Thanks to skyprincess0956, my first (and currently only) reviewer! R/R, people, or I will kill off a character!**

**...don't worry, I won't. I couldn't do that, Meet the Robinsons is a Disney movie, and I am determined to keep this Disney clean! There may be a few profanities and teenager-ish stuff, but hey. They're sixteen. Live with it.**

**Signing off...**

**~RAH**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Just a quicky warning, this chapter is obscenely long. Unfortunately, the Chargeball tournament scene is really long, and there was (once again) no good place to make a chapter break, so you'll just have to suffer through it. Read on!**

* * *

At four-thirty, Leila stood in front of her mirror in a thin white cami and her underwear, holding up a ruffled skirt.

"There's probably going to be a lot of movement, and if I jump, everyone's gonna get a really good view of my ass…Dah!" she yelled, frustrated.

"Somethin' up?" Darien asked, poking his head around the doorjamb.

"Dare!" she squealed, whipping around and holding the skirt up against herself. "My room! Not a public walk-through!"

"Don't worry, it's just me at home. My post-grad-school slacker friends aren't gonna peep at your very see-through shirt there."

"Out!" she yelled, throwing her pillow at him. Ducking it easily, his head disappeared. Leila was overcome with emotion, and she stood there, skinny, wearing only her white shirt and her underwear, with not much of a chest (which, being sixteen, she was very self-conscious about), then she flopped down on the ground and started to cry angry tears.

Darien poked his head around the door again. "You okay, squish?" he asked, concerned. Leila felt a stab of longing at the use of her brother's nickname for her. He sat down next to her. "What's got you all upset?"

"Everything!" Leila burst out. "And nothing. It's…I don't know! I want so badly for him to like me. I've done so well these past few months, I just don't want to do something really stupid and mess it all up." Her sobs came in halting hiccup-bursts. "For the first time I've been able to be myself and be accepted by people. I don't want that to all go away."

Darien pulled her against him, her head resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. "Listen to me, okay? No, listen," he insisted when she shook her head. "You are beautiful and talented, and you are a wonderful girl. If that guy doesn't realize how good he's got it with you, whether your relationship is casual or not, he's not worth your time and you'd be better off without him. I think you've got a lot of stress to deal with lately, and I think you're on your period and it's throwing your hormones out of whack. If you don't want me to tease you, I won't, okay? I'm here for you, Lei, whenever you need me. I made a promise to Tyler that I'd take care of you, and I'm not about to go and break that promise, if only because I don't want him to trash my ass after I die. You're family, Lei. Families look out for each other. Whenever you need me, I'll be here, lazing about, sitting on my ass and playing video games." Even when he gave a serious talk he couldn't help but make a joke. Leila smiled a little. "Thanks, Dare."

"That's what families are for."

* * *

Leila strode down Southway Street after exiting her travel-bubble, looking for the Jukebox Café. She wore black leggings underneath her white beach shorts, with a pair of ankle socks and black Converse low-tops. On the top she wore a white tank top with a denim sleeveless button-up top that came to halfway down her rib cage (the white tank top covered her to her shorts). Her hair, which today was purple streaked with white, was in its normal shaggy, short cut (save for her two short braids), and she wore a blue plastic headband.

As she came to the end of the street, a particular building stood out so much that she froze in her tracks and stared.

Inside the building was filled with life, packed to the brim with people. Lights shone from lamps hanging inside. On the outside blazed a fluorescent sign that read _THE JUKEBOX CAFÉ_.

"Well, I found it," she muttered to herself. Pushing open the door, she prepared herself for the clamor of sound that was sure to come.

Inside it was bustling, people moving everywhere. A young waitress came up to her.

"Are you here for the tournament?" she asked kindly. Leila, still a little shell-shocked, nodded. The waitress pointed to a door in the back. "Just through that door and to your right. It's hard to miss."

"Thanks," Leila said, disappearing through aforementioned door. It opened into a hallway, at the end of which was a big door with a sign that read "CHARGEBALL TOURNAMENT HERE" taped up. Leila took in a breath, gripped the handle, and opened the door, upon which she was bombarded by a wave of noise and lights.

The room was very large (likely one of the few structures from the 90's still standing, judging from the state of the place), with what looked like a large stage in the middle. A crowd was gathered around it, so most people didn't notice her come in. There was a large scoreboard mounted to the wall, showing the opponents' names (or usernames, as some of them didn't look like real names at all) and the score for each. There looked to be two people on each team. Bright lights shone onto the stage, but the surrounding areas were more dimly lit with faded bulbs and strobe lights.

A gangly, freckled, be-spectacled boy holding a digital clipboard rolled up to her on skates. "You're here for the tournament?"

"Uh, yes," Leila said, surprised.

"Are you watching or playing? We're still accepting entries into the beginning round."

"Um, I'll play, I guess…"

"Name? You can use yours or an alias, if you like, but you can't change your username after you've decided."

Leila thought for a minute, then grinned. "Trinity." _I always did love _The Matrix…

"Let's see…" He seemed to be checking some kind of database. "That one hasn't already been chosen, so you're good to go. Rounds are fought in two-person teams. You will be randomly assigned a partner who has not already been given to someone else, but you will stay with that partner for the entire tournament. The tournament is fought elimination-style. You receive a point for every goal you make. Each round is ten minutes long. Ties are decided by sudden-death overtime- first team to score wins. You can only switch out between offensive and goalie at the start of the game or after a point is scored. Whichever team has the most points wins and advances to the next round. Your opponents will also be randomly decided from teams not already eliminated. Last team standing wins. Results from any other tournament do not carry over to here- you start with a clean slate. When your name is called, it's your turn to play. Good luck, Trinity."

Leila nodded and said, "Thanks," but the boy was already speeding off.

Leila wandered for a minute and waded through the thick crowd to watch the current game being played. The team on her side of the playing-field was losing, badly. It was a pair of boys who obviously weren't very good. The winning team was a boy and a girl, both of whom looked like they did this a lot. They moved in almost perfect harmony, never faltering or getting in the other's way, blocking shots as efficiently as they made them.

Soon the ten-minute buzzer sounded. "And Prime and Arcee are the winners!" the announcer called over the sound system. As it was painfully obvious there was no need for overtime, the losing team slouched off the playing field after half-heartedly shaking the victors' hands.

Two more rounds passed, then Leila heard the announcer call out, "Our next match is…Kailee and Rey vs. Neo and Trinity!"

Leila was interested in who had chosen the alias Neo, as the movie from which the name came was at least forty years old, and very few people watched old movies any more. As she walked up the stairs to the playing field, she blushed at the few scattered whistles and cat-calls directed at her. She was quite surprised, however, when she saw Wilbur walking up the opposite pair of stairs to join her on their side of the field.

"You've seen _The Matrix_?" she asked him incredulously.

"Who hasn't?" he answered, looking to the scoreboard, which cleared the scores from the previous match and flashed the names of the new contestants. She grinned and turned to the freckled boy from before.

"Do you play left-handed or right-handed?" he asked. "Left," she answered, and accepted a playing glove from him. Wilbur took a right.

"You do know how to play Chargeball, right?" he asked her suddenly. She looked at him.

"I know the basics," she answered uncertainly.

"You be goalie, then, and I'll try to block the shots before they come to you. Just block with your glove, the ball is magnetized to stick to the pad in the middle." Leila looked to the glove, and indeed there was a pad there which began to light up when a bell sounded.

"That's the start of the match," Wilbur shouted over the roar of the crowd. "It's a jump-touch to decide who gets the ball first." He prepared himself, then jumped at the same time as the girl on the other team. She was tall, but Wilbur's arms were longer, and the ball swung to the pad on his glove. He immediately swung around her to nail a goal on the goal-block of the not-quite-ready goalie of the other team.

"GOAL!" the announcer shouted. "Neo and Trinity, 1, Kailee and Rey, 0."

The game continued much the same way. Leila got better at blocking shots, though Wilbur stopped most of them before they reached her.

At the nine-minute mark, the game was tied, 4-4. The offensive player of the opposing team, whom Leila assumed to be "Kailee," managed to get a lucky shot past Wilbur. As if in almost slow motion, Leila reached for the ball, and it obediently sped to her palm. Suddenly an idea popped into her head from something she'd seen the Prime-Arcee team do, and from a movie she'd seen recently.

"Duck," she muttered to Wilbur. He obeyed just in time, as Leila curled her fingers in and threw a curveball, but at a much faster velocity than any other shot made in the game. Kailee and Rey had no chance. The Chargeball shot past them and dinged their goal.

A second later, the bell sounded again, signaling the end of the match.

"Yes!" Wilbur shouted, high-fiving Leila and pulling her into a hug, which she gleefully returned, too caught up in the game to be embarrassed. He pulled away. "I can't believe you managed to pull that move! Most newbies- no offense- haven't even heard of it." They walked off the field after shaking the hands of the other team, pulling off their gloves.

"None taken, and I haven't. I saw that team, that really good one a couple of matches before us, I saw the girl do that, so I thought I'd try. What move is it?"

"In the circuit we call it a Stark ball."

"_Iron Man_?" she guessed.

"You _must_ be an old-movie buff," Wilbur said, grinning. "First Trinity, then this on the first guess. Yeah, the whole twitchy-finger thing is pulled from _Iron Man_. If you do that, it charges up the glove and makes the ball go a lot faster, whatever way you throw it, which can really suck if you miss."

"That reminds me- how does the ball stay in?"

"There's an electrical field surrounding the stage. The ball just bounces off, but it doesn't affect the players or the spectators. It's a really simple design, really; the field just has the same charge as the ball, so they repel each other. Simple science- it's great stuff."

Leila smiled in agreement. She loved science.

"The first round isn't done yet. Do you want to grab something to drink?" Wilbur asked. She nodded, and he led her to a large window, where a girl about a few years older than them stood. "Can I get you folks anything?" she asked.

Wilbur looked to Leila. She cleared her throat and said, "One Coke for me."

"Make that two, then," Wilbur added. The girl at the counter nodded. A minute later, they sat at a table, sipping at their sodas.

"We have a fair amount in common, you know," Wilbur commented suddenly. Leila almost choked on her drink. "L-like what?" she coughed.

"Well, we both like Coke…the drink, I mean…we both like chocolate chip cookies…we both like science, I see…we both like to watch older movies…and we both play Chargeball."

"I've only played one real tournament game."

"But you were the best rookie anyone's ever seen, everyone's talking about it. Besides, the Chargeball circuit is a little like the Mafia. Once you're in, you're in."

"Sounds a little…"

"Yeah." Wilbur took a sip of his drink. "So what is it that you like to do? I mean, besides play Chargeball, now."

Leila smiled as she also took a sip. "Well, I'm on the lacrosse team, and the volleyball team, but those are my only sports. Beyond that I like to listen to music and to draw."

"I've seen some of the drawings you've done. They're very good."

"Thanks." She took another sip. "So what is it that you like to do? I mean, besides play Chargeball."

Wilbur grinned at her words. "I'm not much of an organized-sports kind of guy, and I'm not very artistic, either. I suppose this is really all I do."

Leila raised an eyebrow. "You're a sixteen-year-old boy in a world of options, and all you do is play Chargeball?"

"Pretty much," he answered frankly, "but I like to listen to music too. I am impressed at your arm, though. Looking at you, you wouldn't think you throw that hard or accurately."

"Comes from my lacrosse playing," she said. "You're not that bad, yourself."

They continued to talk until their sodas were finished, then they rejoined the crowd around the arena. Leila blushed a little when Wilbur took her hand as he led her through the crowd. She turned her head just as Wilbur looked at her. _She's kind of cute when she blushes_…_wait, why I am even thinking that?_ He shook his head. It also didn't make any sense as to why it had made him a little angry to hear people whistle and cat-call at her, though he told himself it was just because he didn't think it was right for people to objectify her just because she was pretty, again wondering where _that_ thought had come from.

* * *

They stayed and watched until they were called to play. They won that game, and made their way through the rounds until it was the very last one. They were playing against the team Leila had seen at the beginning, Prime and Arcee.

As Leila slipped on her glove, she studied the opposing players. The boy was shorter, with big, thick glasses and a look of intense concentration on his face. She'd seen his long but quick arms in action- he was a very good goalie. The girl was tall and stocky, solidly built. She could scare people off almost before the game even started. She noticed them sizing her and Wilbur up, and obviously not being impressed.

The game started, and the girl (Arcee, she assumed) almost immediately took possession of the ball, practically knocking Wilbur out of the way to get to it, and swung around him to shoot for a goal. It was in before Leila could react. The other team scored two more points the same way.

"Wilbur, let me play offense," she asked. He nodded and switched places with her. The ball went up and Arcee again got it immediately, but this time Leila was ready for her. As Arcee swung, Leila anticipated her movements and caught the ball almost immediately after it left Arcee's hand. In one fluid motion, Leila spun around Arcee and whipped the ball from her hand, letting it shoot towards Prime. He tried to catch it, but failed. He made an angry face as Arcee shot a glare over her shoulder at him.

"Nice!" Wilbur said, high-fiving her. Leila managed to knock off two more shots after.

With four minutes to go, Leila was feeling more confident. She once again let Arcee get the ball, then went to intercept it. But this time Arcee faked right, then swung to the left, leaving her right foot where it was for a suspiciously long time- long enough for Leila to trip over it. Arcee, not missing a beat, proceeded to then snag a goal. Wilbur missed catching it as he was more worried about Leila as she sprawled painfully and far from gracefully to the floor.

"Leila, are you okay?" he asked, rushing over and helping her up. She winced as she put weight on her ankle.

"I'm fine," she said, even as she faltered.

"You're not fine. You need to sit down," he told her.

"Do you forfeit, then?" Arcee asked, her face looking haughty and self-satisfied from her standing position in Wilbur's worm's-eye-view.

Wilbur glared at her. "Only because you cheated. You tripped her on purpose."

"Liar. It was an accident."

The judge came in to stop the brewing fight before it began. "I saw no foul play, so it was an accident. If you forfeit, the other team wins the match."

Wilbur looked at Leila, who nodded. "We forfeit," she said.

"Then Prime and Arcee are the winners, and the tournament masters!" But Wilbur's comment had taken root in the crowd, whose cheers were somewhat half-hearted. Many patted Wilbur and Leila's backs as they passed, and they cleared to make a path for them as Leila limped with one arm around Wilbur's shoulders.

Wilbur sat Leila down at a table. "I'll go get some ice," he promised, heading to the snack bar. She nodded and propped her ankle on a chair. The crowd was starting to clear out, and some expressed their concern or their congratulations as they passed.

"Here we go," Wilbur said as he appeared out of nowhere from the crowd. Leila jerked, jostling her ankle, making her squeak.

"Ah, are you okay?" Wilbur asked anxiously. She nodded. "I'm fine. You just startled me."

"Sorry," he apologized. "Here's an ice pack." He handed her a cold packet, which she placed on her ankle.

"Did you walk here?" he asked.

"I took the bubble-tube system to Main Square, and I walked from there."

"I'll take you home. You can't walk home in this condition."

"It's really no trouble. I'll just call a cab…"

"I'll take you home," he repeated insistently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I want to make sure that you get home all right. My mom won't have a problem with taking you home. With your ankle like that, you shouldn't walk home."

Leila, a little unnerved (but also flattered) by his concern, mumbled an accession.

"I'll be right back," he promised, stepping outside of the arena to call his mother.

Leila looked after him as he sidled through the crowd. It was times like this- when he was kind and caring- that she knew why she liked him so much.

"Excuse me," a voice called from opposite Leila. She turned her head to see Prime and Arcee standing there.

"I wanted to see if you were all right after your fall," Arcee said, her voice stiff and insincere. "I'm sorry if I tripped you, but if I did, it really was an accident." Leila could hear no trace of actual concern or remorse in the girl's voice.

"Oh, I'll be alright," Leila said lightly, her voice chilly. "I can probably have this fixed up in a few days, and I'll be back to playing again in no time." She tried to make the threat in her voice hearable, as her voice practically dripped with sarcasm and false niceness. _Two can play at that game_.

"That's good." Arcee nodded once and pushed her way through the crowd, Prime silently following.

"What did they want?" Wilbur asked again, making Leila squeak again in surprise. "Sorry!" he immediately added apologetically.

"It's okay, just stop coming up behind me and going all silent-as-the-night ninja," she joked. "They just came over to 'see if I was okay,' not that they really cared."

"Probably did that for appearances sake. Everyone thinks she tripped you. You've become a bit of a martyr."

"Five minutes, and I'm already on the fast track to become the patron saint of Chargeball," Leila joked. "A productive evening if I've ever had one."

"Wonderful. Now let's get you home."

* * *

**Heh...sorry it took me a little longer to update. This week was a little busy.**

**Again, apologies for the chapter length. I try, but sometimes my writing likes to mock me.**

**As always, read and review, please! I do like hearing from you guys. :D**

**~RAH**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, this is a more manageable length this time aroud...sorry again for how obscenely long last chapter was. **

**I just wanted to send out a quick thank-you to all of you out there who have been reading and reviewing this story! It really means a lot to me. So to reward you, I have a shiny new chapter for you! Yay!**

**Btw, I will be putting all disclaimers at the end of the story. Since I've been forgetting all this time, I figured that that would be a neat way of slipping that in. I don't want the copyright fiends coming after me! ;D **

**Enough rambling! Storytime!**

"Omigosh!" Tina yelled when she saw Leila at school. "What happened to you?"

"It's really nothing, Ti," Leila assured her as she hobbled along on her crutches. "I had a bit of a mishap over the weekend. I had it checked out, and I'll be walking fine in two weeks. It wasn't that bad a sprain."

"Nothing? You're a gimp! You're on crutches! This is more than nothing." She whirled around to face Wilbur, who was standing next to her as he watched the exchange. "Why aren't you carrying her books?" she demanded.

"I-what?" he asked, honestly confused.

"Books. Hers. Carry. Now!" she ordered, pointing at the now red-faced Leila. Wilbur, looking a little abashed, courteously took the ungainly weight of her messenger bag off her shoulder, something that Leila was glad to be rid of (though she wouldn't admit it). Leila protested as she normally did, but Tina's intense glare at Wilbur cowed the both of them. Once Wilbur was burdened with two sets of books, Tina nodded, satisfied, and began chatting with Leila as if nothing had happened. Leila weakly smiled apologetically over her shoulder at Wilbur, though he just smiled back, mouthing that it was no trouble.

Once they were in their history class, people, noticing Leila's injury, crowded around her desk, peppering her with questions on how she felt, what had happened, and, once they heard the story, exclamations of how unfair the match had been. In the midst of the commotion, Leila once again got an apprehensive feeling as she spotted Hana watching the hubbub- particularly its nexus- intently, almost looking as if she was glaring at Leila- though, of course, that didn't make any sense.

Miss Reede came in and settled the class; as soon as everyone had vacated the space around her desk, Leila pulled out her sketchbook. Wilbur (who was now sitting next to her, since the project partners were now allowed to sit next to each other) leaned back in his chair and snuck a look at what she was drawing.

He was awed. On the page, gray lines came together to create a rapidly-forming portrait of a dragon curled on the ground of a clearing. Her attention to detail was remarkable, her technique seamless, and her overall skill beyond anything he'd ever seen. He knew she was an artist- he'd seen some of her artwork in passing- but he had no idea that she was this good. It was no wonder that she always had pencil smudges all over her hands.

This sudden revelation on Leila's talent made him realize just how little he knew about her. Granted, there were things about her that he, a member of a select few, knew that others didn't- such as the loss of her family- but to be honest, most of what he knew about Leila Rosewood was surface knowledge, things that anyone could pick up on- her artistic talent, her surprising skill at Chargeball, her penchant for movies more than ten years old, her newfound liking for lacrosse, and her relative smarts in school. He had no idea what her favorite foods were, what kind of music she listened to, what she liked to read, what her favorite time of year was, what kind of ice cream she liked, or whether she preferred to travel by bubble-transport or to walk. He'd been friends with her for more than three months, and he knew next to nothing about her.

Leila seemed to notice him staring at her, because she looked up, tucked her silvery hair (today's color was a shiny, metallic silver) behind her ear, smiled a little at him, and asked innocently, "What?"

It had never occurred to him, really, how pretty she was. She had a slim but deceptively strong shape- coming from daily practice in running around, whacking people with sticks; gold-green eyes that, though before they were usually shyly downturned, now sparkled with a newfound confidence and humor; her hair, in its shaggy yet cute cut, was never dull in its daily-shifting color schemes; and a hesitant at first but soon warm smile that, he was sure, would not fail to charm many unsuspecting boys.

When he realized that he hadn't yet answered her, he shook himself out of his musings, hurriedly convincing her of his wandering thoughts. She nonchalantly returned to her work.

At the end of the period, his mind was made up, and he caught her on her way out. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked. She agreed, her face a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, leaning on her crutches.

"No, nothing, I just wanted to ask you something. You'll be in a walking cast this weekend, right?"

"I should be."

"Then I was wondering if you wanted to come to the park with me," he asked in a rush, before he lost his nerve.

"With you?" she asked, almost as if the concept was unclear. "Just you? And me? At the park? Like…a date?"

"Well, yeah, kind of…if you don't want to, that's oka-"

"No, no, I'd love to!" she assured him hurriedly, trying to dissuade him of the notion. "I've just never really been on a…well, a date before. I'll talk to Darien."

"Great." With that, the conversation petered off into awkward silence.

"Well, I should…" Leila began at the same time Wilbur said, "So then I'll…" They both paused, unsure of how to proceed.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Leila said, and hobbled off. Wilbur blew out the breath he'd been holding, feeling oddly satisfied.

"So, asking out our flower, are we?" a voice from behind him said slyly, making Wilbur jump and turn around to find Tina.

"Well- I- just-" he stammered. She waved a hand and smiled.

"I'm just playing with you, boy," she laughed. "Besides, she'll be more excited than a kid at Christmas, I promise you that."

"Why do you call her 'flower,' anyways?" Wilbur asked. It had never made much sense to him.

"Because that's what she is," Tina said simply, as if the answer was obvious. "Look how much she's grown as a person in the last four months or so. Before, she was this shy girl who spent most of her time alone, and stuttered and stammered quietly whenever she talked to someone, which was rare. Now she's happy a lot more of the time, with friends that she can talk to and laugh with, and show her work to. She's a lot braver now, and it's thanks to you, really, because if you'd never asked her to be your friend, none of us would have paid her much mind, to be honest." At this last statement, Tina blushed and scuffed her feet ashamedly. "Before, she was just a bud. Now she's bloomed into a beautiful flower. So that's why I call her that."

The truth of what she'd said hit Wilbur like a smack in the face. Before the history project they'd done together, he likely couldn't have told someone who Leila Rosewood was if her hair hadn't been so wildly different. He knew, from Tina's reaction and from recent experience, that all of Leila's new friends felt guilty about how little they'd noticed her, and were determined to make it up by making her the princess of their group.

"Hey, don't look so particularly guilty, alright?" Tina told him, catching onto his inner struggle. "We all messed up. We were so caught up in our own bubbly lives that we neglected to really see how alone and left out she was. You were the best of all of us- you actually invited her in. I'd noticed for a while that she was usually by herself, but it never quite registered, you know? I mean, I always _thought_ that I should invite her to sit with us. I intended to…someday. But someday isn't an eventually. It's a constant 'what if' that we pin our goals and hopes on to make ourselves believe that we've given ourselves a deadline. It's always in the future and it'll never come, and for someone as lonely as her, that 'someday' could mean waiting a long time. And that girl's been through enough hell as it is."

He gave her a look that was half-startled, half-knowing. "You know?"

"She told me a little while ago, before I went over to her house one day. She does alright, for a kid living with her dead brother's college roommate. Her room's pretty awesome, and whenever Darien and his friends get too loud and annoying, she always threatens to rewire the place." Tina laughed at the memory. "She means it, too. The girl knows more about that apartment's electrical system than there are words in a dictionary. She's really smart."

"Yeah, she is," Wilbur agreed. "I always knew that, but have you ever seen her artwork? She's an amazing artist."

Tina nodded. "She showed me some when I went over. She's fantastic. One entire wall of her room is covered in drawings, sketches, paintings, you name it. You should see it."

"It'd be kind of awkward going over to her house, though…"

"Hey, you never know. Maybe if this date goes well…" She left the end of her sentence open to the imagination and elbowed him knowingly. He punched her lightly on the arm, and they walked off laughing.

Near the spot that they had just vacated, Hana stood behind a corner, a look of equal parts jealousy and hurt on her face. She gripped her books so hard that her knuckles turned white, then stormed off, people scattering, surprised, in her wake.

* * *

By the next day, Leila had gleefully assured him that Darien would have no problem with her going to the park with him, under two conditions:

"First is that you have to make sure I'm careful," she told Wilbur with an eye roll. "He doesn't want me hurting my ankle again."

"That's a given. I'll make sure that we don't do anything too hard."

"The second is that if you treat me anything less than appropriately and gentlemanly, he has simply this to say to you: 'I'm not afraid to go _back_ to prison.'"

Wilbur gulped. "Has he actually been to prison?"

"No, of course not. He's just saying that to scare me. I figure it's his 'elder brotherly duty.'" She didn't seem to be bothered by the scant mention of her family, so he pressed on.

"Well, I wouldn't even think about-" Wilbur began, but Leila, blushing furiously, cut him off. "Oh, I know that! But he wanted me to say it anyways, I guess so that you'll know 'when he comes knocking.' Well, he said it in more colorful words, but I'd get in trouble if I said them at school."

Wilbur laughed nervously. "He seems very…protective of you."

Leila smiled. "Yeah, he's taken on the mantle of being my father, mother, and brother all at once well. He's a trooper."

There was an awkward silence for a minute.

"So…when should I come to pick you up?" he asked. She looked surprised.

"Oh, I live nearby the park, so I figured that we'd just meet there."

"But you shouldn't have to walk," he protested.

"That's okay. I'll find a ride. Besides, this way you're saved from being grilled by Dare. He takes his job as my legal guardian _very_ seriously when it comes to boys."

_Does that mean she's brought more than one home?_ he thought. _I've never seen her with one at school, but that's no guarantee_… He was broken out of his train of thought when Leila waved a hand in front of his face.

"Wilbur?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. What?"

"I asked if meeting at three on Saturday was fine."

"Yeah, that'll be fine. So it's a date."

"Yup," she said, and the happy glow on her face was not lost on him. He felt a sudden warmth inside, glad that she was so happy. It was, he told himself, because she was his friend, and after all that she'd been through, she deserved to be happy, but there was a small part of him that quietly, naggingly, spoke otherwise, that maybe there were _other_ reasons that he was so concerned for her happiness. None of it made much sense to him. He just shook his head and went back to his seat as class started.

* * *

**Yay, the plot thickens! Next will be their little date...not sure on what I should do, exactly. Should it go sweet and nice as planned, or should some kind of mad chaos occur? It's a toss-up either way. Drop me a line with your thoughts. Actually, just suggestions in general. I love those. ONCE AGAIN, FOLKS, I LOVE SUGGESTIONS. THIS IS NOT A HINT AT ALL. (NOTE SARCASM IN LAST SENTENCE.) GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS OR FACE MY WRATH. In the form of...cute, super-speedy dragons. (HTTYD = 3)**

**Why, you ask, will she be in a walking cast only a week after she hurts her ankle? Because they live thirty years in the future, and by then, I am sure, they've come up with ways to speed up the healing process. I mean, they have insta-buildings, for God's sake. (Watch the movie if you don't believe me.) They have _time travel_. Cut me some slack here.**

**So...what do you all think of Hana? I'm trying to make her seem a little obsessed/borderline stalkerish, but I don't want her to be _too_ creepy. She's ending up to be my antagonist in my little romance here. I've got an idea on what I want her to do, but as you read before I WANT SUGGESTIONS. SUGGESTIONS = 3. I don't find all of my plot bunnies on my own.**

**Btw, I might have a continuity issue. Their teacher, Miss Reede, was originally called Miss Turner (but I didn't like that as much) and I may have forgotten to change Turner to Reede in some places. If I have, please notify me so that I can fix it. Thanks!**

**As always, COMMENTS ARE LOVE! Thanks again to my loyal readers and reviewers (no matter how small your population may be). I love you all more than my luggage! (If you don't get that reference, shame on you. Go and rent _Steel Magnolias_ NOW!)**

**~RAH**


	5. Chapter 5

***hides* I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out! I was really busy for the last few days of this week. I banged this out Saturday and Sunday evening, so if it's a little rough, I apologize, but I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible! Thank you to all of you who waited patiently!**

**Now back to the reading! CHARGE!**

* * *

Once again, Leila found herself in front of her mirror, deciding on what to wear. Granted, this time she had an enormous, bulky boot on her foot, but other than that, it echoed the scene from a week earlier. This time, though, she was going more for sweet and cute than sporty. She finally decided on a light blue short-sleeved dress and matching sweater, both complimenting her now navy-blue hair. Grabbing her MoComp and stowing it in the small back she was bringing- which contained her wallet and her smaller sketchbook- she hobbled down the stairs (as a walking cast isn't the easiest thing to, well, _walk_ in), fastened on her favorite necklace, yelled goodbye to Darien- who was otherwise occupied with one of his video games- and made her way over to her neighbor's house, who was more than willing to give her a ride to the park.

She was glad that Wilbur had suggested this particular park- it was one of her favorite places. The park being both fondly and painfully nostalgic- her parents had taken her here all the time when she was little, and Darien had continued the tradition- she'd frequented it for years, often playing with the endlessly energetic children there. It never failed to bring a smile to her face.

She thanked her neighbor and got out of the car, blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face. The park was relatively empty for a Saturday afternoon- there were only two or three families there- so she found a bench to sit on as she waited.

Wilbur strolled to the park about ten minutes later, having been dropped off half a block away by his mother. Upon reaching the park, he looked around for Leila, mainly searching for her wildly colored hair. At first, he didn't see her, but he couldn't help but smile when he saw her head of hair over by the swings, pushing one of the children as said child swung back and forth in the air, giggling with glee and kicking his feet happily. He made his way over.

"Hey, I hope I didn't keep you waiting," he said as he reached her. She looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, no, I just got here a little early. Besides, this is fun," she assured him, smiling honestly.

Another one of the children- who looked like she was a sister to the boy Leila was playing with- came over and tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. "Can you push me, Mister?" she asked, looking up at him with hopeful blue eyes and a dimpled smile.

"Sure," he said. She clapped her hands and scrambled onto the swing. Both of the children squealed and laughed happily, and Leila couldn't help but smile at their contagiously innocent joy.

After a while, the children's mother called them over, and the boy and girl thanked Wilbur and Leila as they ran off. They waved goodbye and settled on the swings themselves, staying that way for a while as they talked. Before too long the sun had dropped further in the sky, and families were beginning to leave.

"What time is it?" Leila asked. Wilbur consulted his MoComp. "A little after four," he answered. An idea struck him.

"There's an ice cream shop just around the corner. Do you want to get some?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, and grabbed her bag as she stood up. She walked a little slower than normal, but otherwise seemed to be fine.

Once they got there, they set immediately to choosing a flavor. Leila still seemed to be deciding, so Wilbur ordered a chocolate single-scoop for himself.

"I'll have chocolate chip cookie dough, single scoop," she decided finally. Once the ice creams were ready, they both made to pay.

"It's okay, I've got it," Leila said.

"No, I'll pay," Wilbur insisted, both turning a little pink.

The cashier smiled. "You two are so cute, I'll just give this to you," she said, placing some money in the register for them. Both blushed even further, and stammered their thanks to the knowingly-smiling cashier.

They found a bench to sit on, and sat, quietly enjoying their ice cream. Leila fiddled with her necklace a little, causing Wilbur to look at it. It was an intricate knot, reminiscently Celtic, hanging on a contrastingly simple chain.

"That's a pretty necklace," he told her. She smiled faintly. "Yeah. It was my mother's. She always used to wear it." Silence fell for a minute, as Wilbur was unsure whether the mention of her family would affect her, but when she had no reaction, he pressed on. "If you don't mind me asking…" he began hesitantly, "is talking about your family uncomfortable at all for you?"

She considered it. "Not so much anymore," she admitted. "I mean, it's been almost ten years. I'll never stop missing them, and I'll certainly never forget about them, but there comes a time when it's okay to move on, I guess. I realized a little while ago that I was letting my grief hold me back- I didn't want to be hurt, so I cut myself off from people, even unintentionally. I realized that I really didn't have it as bad as I thought- I've still got my memories of them, and things to remind me of the good times. I've got Darien. And I've got all of my friends. It put things into perspective, I suppose. They wouldn't want me sad and alone- they'd want me to be happy and to have a good life. So no, it doesn't bother me as much as it used to." Despite her words, however, he noticed the slightest bit of a mournful note in her voice.

"Well, if you ever need to talk about anything, you can always talk to me," he promised her. She smiled at him. "Thanks."

This time it was she who checked the time. "It's getting close to five o'clock," she said. "The sun's starting to set. We should get home."

"I'll call my mom," he said, and, taking out his MoComp, did just that.

After a few minutes of waiting, Franny came to pick up the two in a hovercar, and the short ride to Leila's house passed in relative silence other than Leila's occasional directions. When they reached her apartment, the two got out and Wilbur walked her to her door.

"Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday," Wilbur said, awkwardness rising between them.

"Yeah…" Leila answered, equally discomfited. She fiddled with her necklace and looked down.

He bent his head closer and kissed her cheek. "Bye," he said quickly, and walked back to where the hovercar idled at the curb.

She rubbed the cheek he'd kissed, both surprised and happy. A smile spread across her face, and she went inside. Darien asked after how the date had gone, but she just kept smiling in a dreamy, secretive way, and said, "Oh, fine."

* * *

In the hovercar on the way to school on Monday, Leila was far from fine. She'd been worried the night before and all that morning, namely about how to react at school.

_Will that kiss he gave me change anything? Should it? Is it a bad thing if he doesn't think anything of it? What if it's too awkward between us? I can't lose him! Not when I'm this close!_

Darien looked over at her from the driver's seat. "You okay, squish?" he asked. "You look kind of weird."

"Oh, I'm…I'm fine," she assured him lamely. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't press the matter further.

To her relief- and simultaneous annoyance- Tina met up with her before Wilbur did, meaning that she had an honest excuse not to look at him immediately. In the few glances she snuck at him when he wasn't looking, he looked about as nervous as her.

They didn't talk much for much of the day, each finding excuses to be drawn up in other conversations while they tried to sort out their thoughts and feelings.

_She hasn't talked to me all day_, Wilbur worried. _I wonder if she's mad that I kissed her. Why did I kiss her, anyways? I don't even know where it came from- it just happened. Man, I hope she isn't mad. I don't even know how I feel about her anymore, but I definitely don't want to lose her as a friend._

By the time history rolled around, many in their group had noticed how awkward the two were around each other. Tina, who had a good inkling as to what had happened- knowing both of them well- plotted with James to get the two together alone.

After the bell rang, Leila darted over to Tina- who she normally walked to her locker with- and James gathered up Wilbur, each conspirator leading their friend to the agreed-upon meeting spot.

"…and the price was completely ridiculous! I mean, the shirt was good, but it wasn't _that_ good," Tina complained as she regaled Leila with the story of her weekend shopping trip. "I practically had a heart attack when I looked at the price tag. It was a painful experience, putting it back on the rack. I nearly cried." Leila, who was fully engrossed in the story, didn't notice Wilbur and James walking towards them; likewise, Wilbur, who was talking with James about an upcoming Chargeball tournament, didn't see the girls.

"Oh!" Tina call ed when she caught sight of the boys. "James, just the man I wanted to see. I needed your help on my math homework, would you come with me?"

"Sure. See you tomorrow, Will," James said, walking off with Tina. Both Leila and Wilbur glared at their friends, but couldn't just leave now that they were directly in front of each other with no one else to talk to.

"So…" Leila began uncomfortably, scuffing the ground with her walking cast.

"You're not…mad at me, are you?" Wilbur asked suddenly. She looked up in surprise. "No, why would I be?" she asked, shocked.

"Well, we haven't really talked all day, and I had a feeling it had to do with Saturday. I mean, I shouldn't have just kissed you like that, I don't know what came over me-"

"No, it's not that at all!" she exclaimed. "Well, it kind of is, but I'm not mad at you, not at all! I was just…kind of unsure how that left things between us."

Wilbur looked visibly relieved. "Oh. Well…I guess we could…try going out…"

"Really?" Leila's face was hopeful and ecstatic at the same time. "I was kind of hoping we could."

"Oh…" he said. "Well, then…do you need a ride home?"

She shook her head. "Darien usually picks me up after school. But I might need a ride tomorrow…and maybe for a while after that." She smiled, hoping he might catch on to her meaning.

He smiled back at her. "Sure." He took her hand and they walked out to the front of the school together, where Tina and James were not-so-patiently waiting.

* * *

Farther back in the hallway, Hana stood frozen, a murderous look on her face as she clenched her fist on the strap of her bookbag, her nails digging into her palm and her knuckles white. She glowered at the new couple retreating from her view down the hallway, shooting Leila a glare that, if looks could kill, would have left the girl dead in the hallway in seconds.

_There is no way that bitch is getting away with this_, she thought darkly. _I won't let her steal him away from me._

By the next few days, the news that Wilbur Robinson and Leila Rosewood were dating had ripped through their classes like wildfire. Leila, who was still getting used to the idea that her dream was finally coming true, floated through her schooldays, happy atop her metaphorical cloud. Tina, who was glad to see her both of her friends happy, had a constant grin on her face, pleased with herself and James in managing to get the two together.

Franny was driving Leila home one day. As per usual, she was dropped off at the curb. Digging out her key from her bag, she made to unlock the door to find it was already open. She opened the door and dropped her bag in the entryway, looking around for Darien.

"Dare?" she called. "I'm home. You know the front door's…"

Her sentence trailed away when she caught sight of a harried-looking Darien sitting at the dining room table with a strange woman.

"You must be Leila," the woman said. Leila glanced at Darien, then nodded.

"I'm Alicia Belldower from Child Welfare Services. There are a few things we need to talk about."

* * *

**WAHAHAHAHA CLIFFHANGERS!**

**I know, I'm a horrible person. I make you wait a week for a chapter, and I leave you at a terribly climactic spot. Don't worry. I have the story totally planned out from here, so hopefully the writing will go a little faster. I'm thinking there'll be about three more chapters, four at the most.**

**So! Again, I'm really sorry about how long it took for this chapter to come out. My only explanation is that it's getting to the end of the school year and the teachers are hammering down. I blame chemistry. *hiss hiss***

**Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story! I love you all so much, you're the reason that I actually keep writing this thing!**

**~RAH**


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you mean, you're worried about my 'situation?'" Leila demanded.

Belldower clasped her hands. "Leila, we only have your best interests in mind. I understand you've been through very difficult times-"

"And you're not making them any easier," Darien broke in, but a look from Leila silenced him.

"All I'm saying is that this," she gestured around her to the apartment, "may not be the best environment for an orphaned teenage girl to grow up in. You need stability. You need a family."

"Darien is my family. He's the only family I have," Leila shot back.

"You have other blood relatives, Leila, who would probably be more than happy to take you in-"

"I know about them," Leila interrupted impatiently. "I've got a couple of aunts and uncles on my dad's side. None of them even offered to take care of me when Mom and Dad and Tyler died. I would have probably gone into the foster care system if Darien hadn't taken me in. As far as I'm concerned, they're not family. They can go to hell for all I care. Family doesn't abandon you when it matters most. Family doesn't give empty promises and hollow words. Family will always be there, and so far the only one in my 'family' who's alive who fits that description is Darien."

"Leila, you're living in a very unstable environment," Belldower explained. She pulled out a file folder. Darien, knowing what was in it, buried his face in his hands, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Mr. Fairchild here hasn't had a steady job in five years," Belldower read. "His credit is sketchy at best, and he's at least a year behind on his taxes." She closed the file folder and looked at Leila. "The fact of the matter is that, given the financial situation of your home and the…delicate nature of your circumstances-"

"What do you mean, 'delicate nature of my circumstances?'"

Belldower sighed. "If you were blood-related to Mr. Fairchild, it would be a different matter. As it stands, when your parents died, legally you should have gone to your godparents- your father's older sister and brother-in-law- or the next closest relative- that's what your parents' wills stated. Now, normally this wouldn't have come to our attention, but we were informed of your situation and-"

"Informed? Who told you?" Darien demanded.

Belldower gave him a look. "That's irrelevant, Mr. Fairchild. The point is-"

"Who told you?" Leila asked.

Belldower sighed again. "A girl who said that she was a schoolmate of yours. I believe her name was Ringer."

"Hana?" Leila said, shocked. "I didn't know she knew."

"About what?"

"That my family was gone. I don't exactly broadcast it on the school bulletin."

"In any case, we were informed of your situation, and came to a decision that you would be better off living with an actual family member."

"Now hold on a minute," Darien began angrily, but Belldower cut him off.

"This isn't a democracy, Mr. Fairchild. It is fully within the state's power to move Leila if we believe that she is not living in a suitable environment. If you were more financially stable, perhaps we could work something out, but a sixteen-year-old should not be living in a small apartment with an unsteady income barely providing a roof over her head."

"Who died and made you people God?" Leila asked, bitter and sarcastic.

Belldower gave her a look that was part exasperated, part pitying. "We're not trying to be God, Leila. We're just trying to do what's best for you."

"What's best for me is to stay with Darien!"

"I'm sorry, but that's not an option. You'll be moving in a week."

Leila gasped. "That's not fair! I can't just move in the middle of the school year!"

"I'm terribly sorry, Leila, but-"

"How can you do this? How can you take away the best thing I have? Darien is my family! You're asking me to just up and move, leave all of my friends, my school, my home, and be happy about it? Are you kidding me?"

"Leila-"

"No!" she yelled, standing up. "What gives you any right to just move me around like a chess piece? Don't I get any say?"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. It's the state's decision, not yours," Belldower said, an irritated finality in her voice.

Leila stood there, her mouth half-open, golden-green eyes sparking in anger, silent for a moment, then spun around and ran- more hobbled- up the stairs to her room, shutting the door with a loud slam.

Belldower sighed once again. "Well, that certainly could have gone better."

Darien laughed acerbically. "You come in telling her that she has to move away from everything she knows, with no say in the matter, and expect her to not be angry? I'm sorry, Ms. Belldower, but you've got some very unrealistic expectations." He got up from his chair and moved to the kitchen. "Now I'd appreciate it if you got out of my house."

Belldower pursed her lips, but gathered her things together and left. Once he heard the door close, Darien sighed, then punched the wall furiously, wincing at the flash of pain in his knuckles.

"Is she gone?" he heard Leila call from the landing.

"Yeah," Darien breathed angrily, running his hand through his hair. Leila trundled down the stairs to the kitchen, where, upon seeing her tears, Darien pulled her into a hug.

"They can't make me leave," she sobbed, her voice muffled from being buried in his chest. "I won't leave. I won't."

"I know," he sighed. He held her at arm's length, his hand on her shoulders. "I will do everything I can to keep you, Lei. But the fact of the matter is that I can't go through the entire adoption process in a week. You'll have to go for a little while. But I will get you back, squish, whatever it takes. I promised Tyler I would take care of you. I won't go back on that promise."

She nodded and brushed away the tears running down her face. He gathered her back into a hug and kissed the top of her head, feeling like the world was spinning out of his control.

* * *

"What?" Tina said incredulously the next day at school. Leila was sitting at her desk, her head buried in her arms.

"The state doesn't think that I'm living in a suitable environment. They're moving me to my aunt's house next Friday," Leila said, her deadpan voice muffled.

By now all of her friends knew about her family and Darien. Some were still in shock about that revelation, others about the fact that she was moving so suddenly. Wilbur sat on the edge of her desk, his hand on her shoulder.

"But that's not fair! Who do they think they are, just moving kids around willy-nilly without asking whether they wanted to or not!" she said indignantly.

"That's what I said," Leila replied.

"Really?"

"Apparently I have no choice. 'It's the state's decision,' not mine."

"That's the most unfair, sickening thing I've ever heard! How did they even find out?"

Leila didn't answer, but Wilbur had a feeling that she knew. It didn't seem the right time to ask, so he just rubbed her shoulder, silently conveying his support.

After class he stopped her in the hallway. "How did they find out?" he asked her in a low voice.

"Hana," she said simply.

"Hana?"

"She's the one who told them. I don't know why."

The news surprised Wilbur. "How'd she even find out?"

"I have no idea," Leila said. "But it doesn't matter either way. I'm still leaving."

"Can't Darien just adopt you?"

"Not in a week. The whole process would probably take about six months, at the very least. He's going to try to get me back, but there's no guarantee that he'll be able to even adopt me."

Wilbur wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a comforting hug. She held tight to him, trying to keep from crying.

"It's just not fair," she whispered.

He sighed. "I know."

* * *

For the next week Leila was almost completely absent from school, being busy packing her things up. On Leila's last day, everyone made an effort to show her how much she'd be missed. Teachers and students alike expressed their well-wishes, and many brought in treats and going-away presents. Wilbur, in particular, noted that while all of it was well-meaning, it did nothing to improve Leila's spirits, which were already low. She drifted through the school day with a forced smile plastered on her face and a mechanical "Thank you" prepared for every condolence and gift she received.

By the end of the day, Wilbur was fed up. Despite Leila's repeated statement that it didn't matter how Hana had found out or why she'd reported Leila, he was determined to find out why anyways. At the end of their last period Tina collected Leila for a minute, and Wilbur saw his chance. Hana had been more distant and quiet than usual, so it wasn't that hard to talk to her alone. When she slipped out of the classroom, he followed her.

"Hey, Hana, can I talk to you for a minute?" he called after her. She halted, seemingly frozen for a minute, then turned around, the expression on her face a mixture between eager hope and nervous apprehension.

"Um, yeah?" she said, a half-smile on her face.

"How'd you find out about Leila's family?" he asked bluntly, cutting straight to the chase.

"Huh?"

"You know what, it's not important how you found out. What I want to know is why you told Child Welfare Services about her."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she said lamely, far from convincing.

"You know. Why did you do it? You should have known that it could only end up in Leila been forced to leave."

Hana, who had been partially turned away from him, whirled to face him fully. "I did it for _us_," she seethed, looking slightly crazed with her blunt-cut bangs and dark hair hanging in her face.

"What?" he asked, thrown completely off guard.

"I had to do it," she pleaded, abruptly changing mood. "You have to understand, I couldn't let her win. I've liked you longer than her! I've known you longer! What right did she have to barge in and steal you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, stunned and confused.

"Oh, Wilbur, we would be so perfect," Hana implored him. "But she needed to go."

"Hana, are you crazy? Why would you do something like that?"

"I had everything planned out," she continued, not hearing him. "Then _she_ came in and ruined everything. I had to get her out of the way. I couldn't lose to her, not that _bitch_." She practically spat the last word out in her contempt.

Wilbur was unable to say anything for a second in his shock. This was a side of Hana that he'd neither seen nor even thought she had. It was dark and obsessive, and, to be honest, it was scary.

"You're the one who broke this up," he said. "She made so many people happy and you took that away."

"But I _had_ to-"

"No, you didn't. You could have been content that I was happy with her, and moved on. You weren't thinking about me, or 'us'- you were only thinking about yourself."

Hana looked as if she'd been slapped. "Wh-what do you mean- of course I was thinking about us! I was trying to protect us!"

"There is no 'us,' Hana!" Wilbur yelled, and the few people still left in the hallway looked their way in startled surprise. "Maybe before there _could_ have been, if I hadn't gotten together with Leila, but now? All you've done now is prove that you're a jealous, desperate girl willing to destroy other people's happiness to get her own. I'd never date someone like that."

Her eyes began to fill up with tears. "But, Wilbur…"

"I don't want to hear it," he said, leaving disdainfully. She frantically lunged out and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wilbur, wait," she pleaded.

"I've heard all I need to hear," he said, shaking her off and continuing down the hallway. She stood where he left her, her arm still held out and her eyes now openly overfilling with tears. As he disappeared down the hallway, she whirled around and kicked a locker angrily, cursing silently and crying.

Wilbur, stony-faced, strode down the hallway, making his way to where Leila would be. When he saw her, and she saw him, they immediately embraced, each silently comforting the other.

* * *

**Well. I'm sorry that I broke the chapter at a really bad place. The first half of the next chapter and this chapter were originally intended to be posted together as one chapter, but it was ending up being way too long. So I'm posting this chapter as Ch. 6, combining the part originally intended for this chapter with the original epilogue as Ch. 7, and writing a new epilogue, which will be a lead-in to a possible sequel. You'll likely be able to tell where the original break was going to be. ...Hope that made some amount of sense to y'all.**

**We're almost done! I'm almost all of the way through the next chapter (final edit version), so I'll hopefully be able to get it out in a day or two. I'll be slightly busy this weekend (I 3 THREE-DAY WEEKENDS!) with birthday stuff! Yay!**

**Well, a big thank-you once again to all of my readers and reviewers, anonymous or not. I really do appreciate all of your encouragement and feedback!**

**~RAH**


	7. Chapter 7

**Le gasp! The final chapter! (Unless I write an epilogue, which I'm seriously debating on.) Thanks again to all of my loyal readers and reviewers, I can't thank you guys (and/or gals) enough!**

**Well, if you like my stuff, check out my profile for upcoming stories. I'm thinking of putting up a poll for which one I should write first, _Mistakes and Consequences_ (How to Train Your Dragon) or _A Long Way Home_ (Treasure Planet). It's pretty up in the air.**

**Read on!**

**

* * *

**

Franny Robinson was mulling about in the kitchen, doing nothing in particular as she cast occasional glances to the upstairs. Her son was there, moping as he had done for the past week. It was perfectly understandable, of course, since his (somewhat) girlfriend was moving far away for an indefinite amount of time.

She sighed. Nothing anyone in the family had done had been able to cheer him up. She had decided it was one of those things that took time to heal, and had (to his relief) mostly left her son alone.

The doorbell ringing broke her thoughts momentarily, and she briskly made her way to the door, ready to be the cheerful hostess. When she opened the door, however, she was surpirised at who she found there.

"Hello, Mrs. Robinson," Leila said, her hair today a brilliant fire-engine truck red. She carried a messenger bag with her that was stuffed almost to bursting.

"Hello, Leila," Franny answered, letting the girl inside. "Hold on, I'll go get Wilbur."

"That's okay. I just wanted to give him these before I left." She reached into her bag and pulled out a file folder, which she handed to Franny. "It doesn't really matter to me if he wants them or not. But I felt like he should have them. I just…I'll choke up if I have to say goodbye again." With that, she turned to leave. "See you around, Mrs. Robinson."

"Wait," Franny said, stopping her. Leila turned back around. "You might want to walk slowly, at least."

* * *

Wilbur was lying on his bed, staring at a mostly-blank wall. His mood was melancholy and would not be lifted- not that he had any intention of doing so. His family had, thankfully, left him alone for the most part, only interrupting his moodiness to inform him of meals.

A knock on his door pulled him back to alertness, and he sluggishly made his way over to the door. When he opened it, his mother was there, holding a file folder.

"This is from Leila," she told him, handing it to him. He wordlessly took it and closed the door behind him as he turned back to his bed, not really processing what she'd said. He sat down heavily on the edge of his bed, setting the file folder down and opening it.

There were maybe fifteen or twenty papers in it, each covered with drawings. He immediately recognized them as Leila's- not only by the signature at the bottom, but by her style- and began to flip through them, his interest piqued.

Many of the front drawings looked recent. They covered a wide range of things, from fairies to butterflies to flowers to a rainstorm. After that, he was taken aback by what he found.

They were drawings of him, from any and every angle and with every expression. Sometimes it was just his head or face; others it was of his whole body. Sometimes he was alone; sometimes he was with other people. He flipped through them, amazed at the talent and time that had been poured into them. When he reached the last page, though, he was both stunned and interested.

The drawing was of him and her- Leila, of course- together. It was drawn as if from looking at their backs, but their faces were turned to the side to face each other, and their hands were intertwined. On the side, written lightly enough that it was hard to see, was the word "Maybe?"

A jolt shot through Wilbur, and he sat there for a minute, staring at the drawing. He stood up suddenly and went to his window, searching to see if Leila might be there. To his relief, she was at the end of the drive, walking slowly. He set the drawing on top of the others, then bolted out of his room, down the stairs, and out the door, not even bothering to get on shoes or socks.

"Leila!" he yelled, running hard to catch up to her. She turned around and, seeing he was headed towards her, stopped and waited for him to reach her. Once he got there, he ended up bent over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"I…I saw your drawings," he gasped. Her eyes widened a little, but otherwise she didn't have much of a reaction.

"They're probably not any good," she murmured, staring at her feet.

"They're great! You're an amazing artist. But I…I saw the last one, and I just couldn't let you leave without at least saying goodbye first."

Leila glanced up at him. "You remember when I came to your house for the first time, and I said that I acted weirdly around you because I wanted to be friends?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that wasn't entirely true. I mean, I really did want to be friends with you, but the main reason I acted like that was because I had a huge crush on you. Like, never-going-to-look-at-another-guy, completely-head-over-heels-in-love. And I was too shy to tell you, or even act normally. But I'm not anymore, I guess, or I wouldn't have told you that. I've wanted to tell you that for a long time. You've meant everything to me, Wilbur. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had all of the wonderful friends I have, like Tina. I would have never learned that I didn't always have to be quiet and shy. I wouldn't be who I am now. I know now that if you didn't like me like that, I'd be okay. So if you'd rather stay the way we are now, that's fine with me. I'd rather be just friends than ruin our friendship." She scuffed her feet against the ground nervously.

Wilbur laughed a little to himself. "Wow, I am such an idiot."

"What?" Leila asked, now completely confused. "Why do you say that?"

"Cause I never thought to do this until now," he said, and pulled her over and kissed her.

When they broke away, Leila had a look that was a mix of surprise and happiness on her face. "So…where does that leave us?"

"I don't know," he admitted. They stood there, beaming foolishly at each other. After a minute, Leila noticed the fading daylight.

"I should be going," she pointed out. "I'll be leaving in about an hour." The reality of her departure dampened the happy mood that had sufficed the two of them moments before.

"Will I see you again?" he asked. She smiled gently.

"Oh, don't worry," she assured him. "I'll be back, I promise." They hugged, and she kissed his cheek and then walked off, waving at him over her shoulder. He stood there, his hands in his pockets, feeling both happy and lonesome. But, true to her words, he had a feeling that it wasn't the end- not quite.

* * *

It was midday when the hovercar pulled up in front of the muted house. Bidding his mother goodbye, Wilbur got out and made his way up the stoop to the front door, holding a wrapped package in his arms. When he knocked, a bubbly, excited Tina answered the door.

"You're here! You're here!" she squealed, throwing open the door and almost knocking him over with the force of her hug.

"Of course! Happy birthday, Tina," he said, handing her the present. She led him in and placed the present on the growing pile, then brought him through the house to her backyard, where everyone else was gathered. Some were standing around and talking, some were eating cake and food, and others were sitting at various tables, in conversation or playing games (he saw at least one slightly violent game of virtual spoons). Most of the people he knew from school- some he knew from Chargeball tournaments, which Tina had begun playing in along with Wilbur and James- and he waved or said "Hi" to many of them as he passed. Once they found James, he and Wilbur high-fived each other in greeting as Tina slid her arm around James' waist (the two, once they'd started dating five months before, had been almost inseparable).

For a little while the three talked, then the doorbell rang and Tina ran off once again to answer it. They faintly heard her squeal once again at whoever was at the door, and heard her say, "You came! You came! I can't believe it!" Girls' laughter echoed from the front door, and the boys assumed whoever it was obviously was a good friend of Tina's.

They looked over as she led a girl about their age to the backyard. She had mid-back-length red-gold hair pulled back by a headband. He couldn't really see her face, but she looked vaguely familiar. _I've probably seen her at a Chargeball match_, he thought to himself. Finding them once again in the mass of people, Tina led the girl over. They chattered amicably, as if they were old friends (though Wilbur had never seen the two girls together). Once the two got there, though, Wilbur was struck speechless. Despite how different she looked now, there was no mistaking those gold-green eyes or that heart-shaped face.

"Hey, Wilbur," Leila said, grinning conspiratorially at Tina. The latter smirked back, enjoying Wilbur's dumbfounded surprise.

"Leila!" he blurted out. "Wh-why- you're here." Though he didn't notice Tina and James slink away, Leila did, and made a mental note to thank the girl later.

She kept on smiling. "Yeah. I'm sorry Tina didn't tell you, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, I'm surprised, all right," he laughed. "Are you in town for Tina's birthday?"

"Nope," she said proudly. "I just moved back. Darien officially adopted me two weeks ago. I'll start school again on Monday."

"That's great!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I promised I'd be back, didn't I? My aunt's been doing all she could to help Darien get me back. She's nice and all, and she did the best she could, but we both knew that she wasn't really the child-rearing sort. I suppose it was best that I wasn't bitter about the whole situation. I just made the best of my situation and-"

"Kept moving forward?" Wilbur finished for her, smiling at his joke.

"Yeah, I guess," she laughed, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear. The action made Wilbur once again notice the drastic change.

"Your hair, it's different," he said, feeling kind of stupid for pointing out the obvious. She unconsciously looked at it, then laughed a little. "Oh, yeah. This is actually my natural color. After a while I just stopped using that ShadeShift stuff. To be honest, it was kind of just a way to get attention. I like my hair better this way anyways."

"Well, it, uh…it looks really pretty," he rushed out, flushing a little in embarrassment. She beamed. "You really think so?" she asked, going a little pink herself.

"Yeah." They stood there for a minute, two seventeen-year-olds in the midst of a crowd but aware of only each other.

"Do you remember when you came over to my house before you left?" he asked.

"Of course," he answered, the memory as strong as if it were yesterday.

"And I asked where things left us?"

"Yeah."

Leila looked down at her shoes- a pair of white, strappy sandals- then flicked her eyes back up to Wilbur's face.

"I think it leaves us right here," she said, and took a step closer to him and returned the favor of eight months before. No one (excepting a satisfied James and a delighted Tina) seemed to notice- not that they really cared. In a minute they'd go say hello to all of those friends that hadn't yet seen Leila. For now, though, it was just the two of them together in their happiness.

* * *

**I hope you like the ending as much as I do. As I said before, I'm considering writing a sequel to this. But after watching the movie again last night, I realized that there's a lot about the movie that I didn't really include in this story. So if I do write a sequel, it's going to contain a lot more details from the movie (i.e. Carl the robot, the time machines/time travel, more on the Robinsons). I suppose you could consider this kind of a background story to the relationships I'll have in that story. If you want to know some of my ideas about it, I have two words for you: time cops. :D**

**Once again, a big shoutout to all of you people who were patient enough with my hectic schedule to read this all the way to the end! Thanks especially to DGirl101. I have vastly enjoyed your reviews and our conversations and hope to continue them in the future.**

**Disclaimers:**

**Wilbur Robinson and everything from the movie _Meet the Robinsons_ (c) Disney**

**Leila Rosewood, Tina Hathaway, Hana Ringer, and all else (c) Me!**

**Over and out. Keep watch on this story, I may or may not post an epilogue.**

**~RAH**


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